


(a secret kept) between you and me

by withustars



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Blind Date, Fluff, Getting Together, Hwang Hyunjin & Yang Jeongin | I.N are Best Friends, Jeongin and Changbin are Siblings, M/M, Secret Relationship, kind of, lots of hand holding, there's very little angst, they might be a bit ooc oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27653516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withustars/pseuds/withustars
Summary: Jeongin has managed to keep his friends and family life separate, but all that changes when Minho officially, unknowingly intertwines Changbin and Hyunjin's lives together.or,Five times where Changbin and Hyunjin try to hide their relationship and the one time where Jeongin finds out.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 85





	(a secret kept) between you and me

**Author's Note:**

> \- hello!! im back w another fic and this time, it's changjin!  
> \- i've been wanting to do a 5+1 fic with this ship for a while and this is the result, this taking the title as my longest fic yet !!  
> \- i hope u all enjoy ~  
> \- edit: the formatting is fixed and it's all thanks to my good friend ami~ she's an amazing writer and my biggest support so feel free to check out her [ works ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Safeira/pseuds/Safeira/works) ^-^

  
_i._ _  
_ _  
_ Changbin is laying down on the couch, arm slung over the armrest, and flicking through the television channels for a show to watch in the living room when Jeongin enters.  
  
Jeongin stops short at the living room entrance when he spots Changbin, not saying anything for a few moments. He observes Jeongin carefully and reaches forwards to place the remote on the coffee table in front of him, deciding to look for a show to watch later. The other’s expression turns confused. He looks between the front door, then looks back at Changbin, repeating that for at least three more times.   
  
“Hyung, what are you doing here?”  
  
“...I live here?” Changbin says, confusion leaking into his voice.  
  
“Obviously, I know that because we live together,” Jeongin sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in an exasperated manner, “what I meant to say was, you’re either working or hanging out with Chan-hyung so, why are you here?”  
  
“...It’s my scheduled day off?” Changbin says slowly, carefully as he looks at Jeongin, his eyebrows furrowed, “And Chan-hyung doesn't need me at the studio today because he's going over something separately with Jisung."   
  
Jeongin’s hand drops down to his side and he looks at Changbin with such a pained expression that he isn’t sure what to feel about it, “I can’t have you here.”  
  
“That still doesn’t explain why, Jeongin.”  
  
_“Because,”_ Jeongin stresses, almost on the verge of whining like he’s still a child and not a first year in college, “My friends are coming over.”  
  
_Oh._ _  
_ _  
_ So the truth comes out.  
  
“Okay,” Changbin says, adjusting his position so his feet are now planted on the floor, looking for a show to watch long forgotten in the back of his mind, “What do you want me to do about that?”  
  
“Can you go to your room for a while?” Jeongin asks, stepping into the living room now. Except Changbin doesn’t make any move to leave. He sighs heavily but then he clasps his hands together, and pulls out his puppy dog eyes, his bottom lip jutting out into a pout, “ _Please?_ They’re going to be here any minute.”  
  
“Okay, okay,” He agrees easily with a dismissive hand, getting up from the couch. He walks over to Jeongin and ruffles his hair, causing the younger to swat his hand and duck away, “You know, I don’t understand why I can’t meet them. I think they'd all love me.”  
  
Jeongin scoffs and moves behind Changbin, placing his hands flat on his back so he can start to push him in the direction of his room, “You’re going to scare them away with your embarrassing stories about me.”  
  
Changbin chuckles and glances at Jeongin over his shoulder, “What if I do some cute poses instead? I’m sure they’d love that.”  
  
“No!” Jeongin quickly denies, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment. His hands are still on his back, moving him forwards and further down the hallway, “Just stay in your room, okay?”  
  
Changbin pouts, enjoying that he’s getting to tease Jeongin, “Aw, so I can’t flex my arms in front of them?”   
  
“Absolutely not!” Jeongin hisses, a now horrified look on his face. Changbin positively _guffaws_ at his expression, not even minding that Jeongin sends him almost flying down the hallway with that last shove.  
  
Then, the doorbell rings and he disappears into his room.  
  
-  
  
He manages to stay in his room for a solid three hours.   
  
He busies himself with playing a few rounds of a new game Jisung had mentioned in passing, then when he gets bored with that, he listens to his beats and edits the things he can with the little equipment he has at the apartment. Most of it is at Chan’s studio but he can't exactly go there at the moment so he's stuck with what he has. When he’s done with that, he writes lyrics and then ends up getting _really_ thirsty.   
  
He puts the pen down on his desk and stretches like a cat before he stands up.  
  
From the sounds of it, Jeongin and his friends are preoccupied out in the living room watching some sort of action movie so he thinks it’s safe to go.  
  
Quietly, he clicks his bedroom door open and makes as little noise as possible as he heads straight for the kitchen. He passes by the living room on his way there and sees his step-brother curled up into one of his friends, their other friend sitting at the end of the couch, a bowl of popcorn in his lap.  
  
_Interesting._

He makes it to the kitchen easily and flicks on the light, heading for the cupboard. He takes out a cup and closes the cupboard, turning around to head to the fridge and get some water. He startles though when he sees another person enter the kitchen.   
  
“Sorry,” The boy apologizes sheepishly.  
  
Changbin can only nod, his words seeming to have disappeared from his mind.   
  
Because- _wow._  
  
Changbin doesn’t think he’s ever seen anyone more beautiful in his life.  
  
Black hair frames the nape of the boy's neck and falls prettily into his almond-shaped eyes. The color of his eyes is as dark as charcoal and underneath his left eye, is a small mole. His lips are full and plush, and they’re the color of roses. He wears a light blue long-sleeved shirt that is tucked into black jeans, the sleeves hiding his palms.  
  
"It's okay," Changbin stammers, "Is there something you needed to get from here?"  
  
_Duh,_ a voice hisses in the back of his mind, _obviously, that's why he's here in the first_ _place._  
  
"Yeah," The boy lightly chuckles. His eyes turn into crescents when he smiles and Changbin's heart beats erratically in his chest at the sight, "I came here for a drink." He looks around the kitchen and his smile turns sheepish when he looks at Changbin again, "But I don't exactly know where anything is since Innie doesn't invite me over very often. You live here, right? Do you know where the cups are?"   
  
Changbin nods and points over to the cupboard he was just at, "They're in there."   
  
“Thanks,” He replies, moving to where Changbin pointed him to. He takes his own cup out and then waits his turn, watching Changbin fill his cup with water from the dispenser on the fridge. He fiddles carefully with his glass and then says, “You're Innie's brother, right?” _  
__  
_ Changbin nods and moves to the side, his cup now full, “Yeah.” He takes a sip of his drink and asks, "He's talked about me?"  
  
The boy nods, "He hasn't mentioned anything explicit about you though, he's just mentioned he's had a brother in passing."  
  
"Well, that's me," Changbin lightly smiles, "I'm Changbin."   
  
“I’m Hyunjin, Jeongin’s best friend,” Hyunjin introduces, moving away from the fridge, "It's nice to meet you, Changbin." He takes a sip of his drink and Changbin tries hard not to stare.   
  
He moves his eyes to the side, focusing on anything that's not Hyunjin, "Nice to meet you too, Hyunjin."  
  
So, Jeongin has brought him up before, at least enough times for his friends to know about him, but has never name-dropped. He's mentioned funny stories about Hyunjin, in passing too, but has never name-dropped either, probably in hopes that his family and social life wouldn't intersect.   
  
Jokes on him, though.   
  
“I guess I better go back out there now before Innie questions me about what’s taken me so long,” Hyunjin says with the tiniest bit of disappointment, leaking into his voice almost as if he doesn't want to leave. Though, he ends up sidestepping Changbin and says, “I’ll see you around.”   
  
Changbin nods mutely and lets Hyunjin walk past him. He stops next to him just before he leaves though, and adds on, “Hopefully,” before he’s out of sight.  
  
He heads back to his room with his cheeks turning red and thoughts of this slightly mysterious Hyunjin.  
  
_ii.  
  
_(About two weeks have passed since his encounter with Hyunjin, mostly forgotten now.)   
  
Currently, he’s over at Minho’s house and is spinning himself around in a desk chair, looking up at a weird stain on the ceiling that sort of looks like it's in the shape of a heart, attempting to drown out Jisung’s blabbering to them about his failed date.  
  
“And he didn’t even hug me or anything before he left! He just dropped me off and sped away,” Jisung complains, sighing loudly into Minho’s thigh as the older runs his fingers through Jisung’s hair.  
  
“What an asshole,” Minho comments, absentmindedly.  
  
“Tell me about it,” Jisung mumbles. Then he suddenly pushes himself up and sits crisscrossed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, “But anyways. Changbin-hyung, when was the last time you’ve gone out on a date?”  
  
Changbin slows his spinning and stops so he’s facing the other two who are sitting on the futon. He waits for his head to stop spinning before he replies, “Oh, uh, I don’t know?” _  
  
_“What do you mean you don’t know?” Jisung asks incredulously.  
  
“I mean, I guess it’s been a while since I’ve last gone out,” Changbin shrugs.  
  
It’s true.  
  
For the past few weeks, he’s been busy with his internship at Chan’s studio or has been working late shifts at the record store where he met Minho, his current manager, and more reluctantly, his friend. So really, he hasn’t had the time to be going out because even in his free time, he’s at the apartment, relaxing or spending time with Jeongin when the both of them are free.  
  
“Well, that needs to change,” Jisung determines, “When’s your next day off?”  
  
He’s about to respond but then Minho cuts in and says, “It’s this Friday.”  
  
What?  
  
“What?” Changbin asks, echoing his thoughts, “But I have a shift that evening.”  
  
Minho waves his hand dismissively, “I’ll just get someone else to cover it for you.”  
  
“I don’t even have a date, though-” He tries to protest.  
  
_Tries._  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Minho says, his lips curving up into a mischievous cat-like smile, “I have the perfect person to set you up with.”  
  
Oh, great.   
  
Changbin isn’t sure whether he should fear for his life or trust Minho, but he guesses he’ll find out later.  
  
-  
  
Later comes in the form of Wednesday night, when he’s having a movie marathon with Chan, Minho, and Jisung over at Chan’s place.  
  
He has a late shift the next day and the others weren’t busy so they all ended up deciding to meet together a couple of hours ago and are now paused in the middle of some horror movie Minho had chosen after he beat everyone in rock paper scissors.   
  
They decided to take a break for a little bit while Jisung and Minho went out to go grab snacks and drinks at the convenience store down the road. Changbin decides to take the time to scroll through his social media, updating what he needs to, and then plays a couple of mobile games he has downloaded on his phone.  
  
He’s in the middle of trying to beat his highest score on a rip-off Flappy Bird game when the two come back and Minho announces loudly, “It’s settled. Changbin’s got a date Friday.”  
  
Changbin’s brain short-circuits at his words and he looks at the older with wide eyes. The small character hits the pipe, killing it and the game ends. He does not beat his high score. He exits the app and pockets his phone, much more interested in what Minho has to say.  
  
“Our Binnie's got a date?” Chan asks, half teasing because he knows Changbin isn’t one to go on dates like this and the other half being genuine curiosity, of who he’ll be going on a date with.  
  
“Yep,” Jisung says, plopping down on the couch with the convenience store bags in his hands. He reaches over and places them on the coffee table, “He’s kinda hot too, not going to lie.”  
  
Chan claps his hands eagerly, “Ohohoho, can I see what he looks like?”  
  
Minho sits down on the cushion next to Jisung, folding his legs underneath his thighs. He places the other convenience store bags on the carpet in front of him, pulling out his phone. He goes through it for a few seconds before he hands the phone over to Chan, “Sure, but don’t let Changbin see. It’s supposed to be a blind date.”  
  
Chan nods, shielding the phone away from him when he tries to peak over his shoulder to catch a glimpse. Chan hums, pleasantly surprised, and compliments this person, even though he isn't in the vicinity, “Oh, he’s cute! Very pretty, too.” He darkens the screen and hands the phone back to Minho, “I hope it all goes well.”  
  
“Oh, it will,” Minho says assuredly and very confidently, smiling that mischievous cat-like smile again.  
  
Changbin tries hard to ignore it.  
  
-  
  
Friday evening comes quickly.  
  
Before he knows it, he’s over at Minho’s place and waiting for his date to arrive.  
  
Minho had told him to dress formally but casually since he had reserved a place for them at a cute little hole-in-the wall diner a few blocks away. It recently opened up so there’s been an influx of customers interested to check the place out, and since it wasn’t guaranteed they’d get a table if they just showed up, Minho had taken it upon himself to make reservations for Changbin and his date, who he still doesn’t know anything about. But with that information in mind, he’s dressed himself in a white t-shirt that’s tucked into black jeans with an equally black suit vest thrown over his shoulders, the vest left all the way unbuttoned. He has a simple daisy necklace around his neck and a chain hanging onto the belt of his jeans, to complete the look. He opted out on wearing his earrings for the night, feeling as if they’d stand out of place with his outfit, despite the simplicity of them.  
  
Minho looks like he’s about to say something, but then the doorbell rings and they both turn to look at it. Changbin looks back at Minho.  
  
The other sighs and says, with an eyebrow quirked, “Well, go answer it and have fun.”

Changbin gets up from the couch and heads towards the door, wiping his hands on his jeans out of nervousness. He’s so curious to see who’s on the other side.  
  
When his hand touches the doorknob, Minho disappears down the hallway, presumably to his room. He opens the front door and any greeting he has on the tip of his tongue immediately dissipates in the air because, _oh._  
  
On the other side, it is none other than Hyunjin.  
  
Hyunjin’s eyes flash in recognition when he sees Changbin and then they widen in shock, his lips forming into an ‘o’ shape as he processes who it is. Despite his own, quiet shock, he manages to step outside and click the door shut behind him. Hyunjin steps back so they have enough room between them to where it isn’t uncomfortable and his expression returns to mostly neutral, a ghost of a smile on his lips.  
  
They stare at each other in silence once the initial shock has faded, and take each other in.  
  
Hyunjin- he looks _good._  
  
He wears a black plain shirt underneath a white flannel which has vertical black lines along it. The flannel looks carelessly buttoned, with it dipping into a low v. It seems like it’s a size too big for Hyunjin because the rest of the flannel hangs behind him. One part of the flannel though, is tucked into black skinny jeans that fit really, really nice on him. A simple band rests on his pointer finger and on his wrist, there is a red rope bracelet. If Changbin thinks back, he hadn’t seen either of these pieces of jewelry adorning his hand when they first met at the apartment but he supposes, he hadn’t been wearing the necklace he’s currently wearing, either.  
  
Changbin is about to compliment him but pauses when suddenly he starts giggling, his eyes turning into crescents, his hand reaching up to cover his mouth as he does so. His heart feels warm and he can’t help but smile, “What?”  
  
“This situation is a little funny, don’t you think?” Hyunjin says once his giggling has slowed down and there’s an easy smile on his lips. He offers an open palm towards Changbin and he takes it, albeit a bit hesitant, and the other laces their fingers together, leading them towards the sidewalk.  
  
The restaurant is close enough in the distance that they can walk there. The air is cool and there’s a nice breeze that’ll come through occasionally. Changbin hums, “Yeah, it is.” He looks over at Hyunjin, who’s looking ahead and says, “I didn’t think I’d be going on this date with my brother’s best friend, though.”  
  
Hyunjin groans as if he’s pained at the thought but despite that, there’s a smile on his lips, “Tell me about it. I didn’t think I’d be going on a date with my best friend’s brother, either.” 

Changbin doesn’t say anything, instead looks ahead to see that they have to walk to the end of the block before they get to the restaurant. There’s people mingling about on the street, going in and out of the shops that are still open at this hour and there’s the occasional car that drives through the street, careful of the people taking up the area. The tattoo parlor that they pass has the door wide open, with music blaring from it and filling the street with just a little bit more noise. He glances inside as they pass and makes eye contact with the person behind the counter and gives him a slight smile out of politeness. He’s the one who pierced Changbin’s ears. He returns the smile and then he’s out of sight.  
  
Hyunjin squeezes his hand lightly and Changbin’s reminded that they’re still holding hands. He almost doesn’t hear the next words that Hyunjin speaks because he says it so quietly, “But I suppose this isn’t so bad. After all, I got to see you again, as I hoped.”  
  
Changbin glances at Hyunjin and smiles, feeling warm all over.  
  
They make it to the restaurant after they walk a bit more. Changbin reaches to open the door for Hyunjin and lets him go in first. He sends him a smile. The door falls shut behind them and with mild surprise, Changbin notes that there are not as many people there as he’d expected, considering it’s also a Friday.  
  
Through the glass, he can see that most of the tables are full, the seats occupied by families and couples. There are a few empty tables yet the tops of them have been yet to be cleared, leaving evidence of the other occupants that were once there. 

There’s one couple who sits in the waiting room that they’re in, seated close together on one of the maroon colored sofas that are lined along the wall.  
  
Hyunjin opens the other door for Changbin this time, allowing him to go first.  
  
The door falls shut behind them and they wait for someone to come to them.  
  
“This place is nice, isn’t it?”  
  
“It is,” Changbin agrees easily, “Feels cozy.”  
  
After talking with someone, they wait for a few minutes, sitting quietly in each other’s company before they’re led to a table in the back corner of the restaurant. It’s a booth, with red leather cushions, small enough for about four people in total. The light inside is a dull orange that makes everything feel nice which he supposes helps add to the coziness he feels in the place.  
  
Changbin takes the side to where his back is facing the door and Hyunjin slides in on the opposite side. The waiter hands them their menus and they both start off with a glass of water before the waiter says someone will come soon to take their orders and then disappears out of sight.  
  
Hyunjin is easy to talk to, Changbin learns.  
  
Hyunjin talks about how he’s an only child but that he wouldn’t trade the world for being able to meet Kkami, his dog, who kept him entertained and comforted when he was growing up. He talks about how he’s a dance major in college and how he’s always loved it as a hobby and someday, wants to make a career out of it. He talks about how he and Jeongin were the first to befriend each other out of their now small friend group and how they’ve stuck with each other since that very first day, leading to them being the best friends that they are now. He mentions how he’s only a year older than Jeongin which Changbin points out that he’s two years older than him and just one year older than Hyunjin and suggests that now he can call him hyung.   
  
After that, a waitress comes by and collects their menus and they rattle off what they want before she walks away.  
  
They flow back into conversation easily, and Changbin tells Hyunjin a few things about himself in turn.  
  
He tells him about how Jeongin has always been a real brother to him despite them looking nothing alike because they became a part of each other’s life when he was merely four years old and when Jeongin was two. He tells him that he’s working as an intern at the studio a few places down from this restaurant so he can become a music producer. Then, he tells him he works at the record store in the evenings across the street from the studio, and suddenly, Hyunjin’s chuckling quietly into his hand.  
  
“What? What’s so funny?”   
  
“I can’t believe this,” Hyunjin mutters, a smile on his lips as he shakes his head.  
  
“ _Hyunjin_ ,” Changbin practically whines, pouting.  
  
“Minho-hyung set us up on this date, right?” A nod. “And you work at the record store like you mentioned, yeah?” Another nod and Hyunjin snorts, “I also work at the record store.”  
  
Changbin takes a few seconds to blink, his mouth forming into a small ‘o’ shape.  
  
The seconds stretch on long enough for their food to come and be placed in front of them and then after they say thank you and the waitress and the other waiter who helped her leave, all Changbin can say is, “Wow.”  
  
Hyunjin smiles, “Yeah, _wow.”_ He takes a bit of his food and when he’s done with that bite, says, “Even without Innie in the picture, it looks like we were bound to meet, after all.”   
  
Changbin nods, smiling, “It seems so.”  
  
They eat the rest of their meal in silence and spend a few more minutes after that, talking about anything and everything while they wait for someone to give them their bill.  
  
When a waiter comes with their bill, though, he has to wrestle it from Hyunjin’s hands so he can pay for the meal and hands his credit card to the waiter with a sheepish look when he sees that the waiter is a bit slightest bit awkward with their interaction.  
  
He argues that it’s because he’s older and it’s something he wants to do when the waiter’s out of earshot.  
  
Hyunjin retorts with an undeniably cute pout on his lips, “I _wanted_ to do it, too.”  
  
Before Changbin can respond, the waiter is back and hands him the receipt along with his credit card that he stuffs into his wallet. He stands up and slides out of the booth, full and satisfied with tonight’s date. He reaches a hand out for Hyunjin to take and he does, allowing himself to be pulled out of the restaurant and into the open air.  
  
Nighttime has arrived by now, the sun is long gone.  
  
There are not as many people in the street either, most of them already settled into their homes or in the buildings that are still open.  
  
Changbin squeezes Hyunjin’s hand and looks at him with a small smile, “Next time, okay?”  
  
Hyunjin looks confused when his eyes meet his, tilts his head just a little bit, “Next time?”  
  
“Next time, you can pay,” Changbin elaborates.   
  
His eyes light up for a split second and then the look turns mischievous, his smile turning sly, “Oh, so there’s going to be a next time?”  
  
Changbin feels his cheeks warm-up and he glances away from Hyunjin’s gaze. His eyes land on their hands instead, noting that Hyunjin hasn’t let go yet and neither has he, from when they exited the restaurant. He stutters out a response, “Only if you want.”  
  
Hyunjin squeezes his hand. The mischievousness from a few seconds ago is completely gone and has been replaced with something softer, fonder, when he says, “Of course I want to.”  
  
Changbin sends a smile his way, and Hyunjin returns it.  
  
The walk back to Minho’s place goes by all too quickly and before they know it, they arrive at their cars. Changbin notes that Hyunjin has a black sleek car and his own vehicle is a slightly old, slightly beaten up silver pickup truck.  
  
Hyunjin lets go of his hand to stand in front of his car, though he remains facing him and he tries to fight the pang of disappointment he feels at the loss of contact.  
  
“I had a great time tonight,” Hyunjin starts, his lips curving into a small smile, “and I’d like to see you again if that’s okay.”  
  
Changbin nods, feeling just the slightest bit eager jumping at the opportunity to see Hyunjin again. Though, he knows he would either way, with Minho and Jeongin being their connections. He smiles, “Of course that’s okay. I’d like to see you again, too.”  
  
Another thing, Changbin notes, are the smiles that have been passed constantly between each other tonight. It makes his heart flutter.  
  
“That’s good, really good,” Hyunjin says, softly, like a whisper, and then he’s pulling out his phone from his back pocket, holding it out between them for Changbin to take, “Can we exchange numbers?”   
  
“Yeah,” Changbin agrees, taking Hyunjin’s phone.  
  
He goes to contacts and adds his phone number, setting his name as changbin-hyung ツ before he simply messages a smiley face to himself, so he can easily save Hyunjin’s phone number. He hands back the phone and then, a comfortable silence settles over them.  
  
He doesn’t know how long they stand like that in each other’s presence, taking each other in before Hyunjin tucks his phone back into his pocket and sighs, with visible disappointment, “I suppose we should go now, hm?”  
  
“We should,” He hums but makes no move to leave.  
  
Hyunjin walks a bit closer to him and stops close enough to where the tips of their shoes touch. They hold eye contact for a few moments and then Hyunjin’s leaning in, bending down so he can reach Changbin since he’s just a couple of inches shorter than him, and then plants a kiss on his cheek. He feels himself blush as Hyunjin pulls back, and smiles the softest he’s seen tonight. Hyunjin raises his arm up and wraps his hand around Changbin’s bicep with the gentlest touch, a soft smile on his lips as he whispers, “Goodnight, hyung. Drive safe.”  
  
Then, Hyunjin is turning around and walking towards his car.  
  
Before he can get a chance to fully get in the car, though, Changbin says, loud enough for him to hear, “Goodnight, Hyunjin-ah.”  
  
\--  
  
Later, when he’s settled into bed, and just about to fall asleep, he receives a notification.  
  


**hyunjin ♡**

**hyunjin ♡:  
**this is hyunjin, hyung, in case you didn’t save my number yet  
did you make it home safe?

 **me:  
**don’t worry, i’ve saved it  
and yes, i’ve made it home safely  
i’m assuming you made it home, too?

 **hyunjin ♡:  
**yes, hyung, i have  
i just wanted to make sure you made it so now that i know you have, i’m going to sleep now  
goodnight <3

 **me:  
**sweet dreams

-

**the next day**

**hyunjin ♡**

**hyunjin ♡:  
**should we tell minho-hyung about how our date went?

 **me:  
**nah, let’s keep him guessing ;)

 **hyunjin ♡:  
**devious  
i like it ;))) 

**me:  
**cute  
let’s not tell jeongin, either  
he’ll definitely kill me if he finds out

 **hyunjin ♡:**  
don't worry  
my lips are sealed

  
-

  
The first few times- it isn’t a date. They hangout.

They go to their local arcade and play a few games. Then the next two times, they hangout over at Hyunjin’s apartment, when his roommate is out.

Currently, they’re at Hyunjin’s apartment sitting on his living room couch. Seungmin left earlier in the day to do something so it’s just them.

Hyunjin tells him about his college friend group that consists of Kim Seungmin and Lee Felix, besides Jeongin. He says that Seungmin is his roommate and they’ve been friends since elementary school and decided to move in together when they were old enough to have their own place and could afford it. He shows him pictures of what they look like and Changbin pieces it together that Seungmin was the one Jeongin was leaning against and that Felix was the one with the popcorn bowl when he had briefly seen them in the living room the first time he and Hyunjin had met. 

Changbin tells him about his own friend group, which consists of Chan, Minho, and Jisung. It was originally just Jisung and Chan but then Jisung became friends with Minho somehow and Minho had been planted into their friend group because the two stuck two each other like glue, despite the older of the two being his manager. So, that was a reluctant friendship.

“Are you friends with Minho-hyung outside of work?” Changbin asks, sipping from his juice box as he looks down at Hyunjin.

His head shifts on his thigh and he looks at Changbin through his lashes for a split second before he readjusts his position back to normal and hums. A 3racha track titled, _Broken Compass,_ plays as background noise since Hyunjin had asked him earlier about his music and Changbin had been willing enough to show him some completed tracks.

“Not really,” Hyunjin says, “We talk at work but other than that we don’t really meet up.”

Changbin nods but doesn’t say anything after that. He finishes his juice box so he places it on the side table right by the couch, making sure to throw it out later, too comfortable to move. 

He feels Hyunjin shift beside him and suddenly, he’s sitting up. Changbin glances curiously at him.

“We should go do something,” Hyunjin suggests.

“Like what?” Changbin questions.

“What time is it right now?”

“Almost 7:30 pm.”

“Let’s go to the drive-in,” Hyunjin says excitedly.

Changbin leans forward, stretching. He glances at Hyunjin, shrugs and says, “Let’s do it.”

\--

It takes them about a half an hour to get to the drive-in but they make it on time, giving themselves a few minutes to set everything up before the movie starts.

They take Changbin’s truck instead of Hyunjin’s car, so they can sit on the bed. Changbin parks in the second row, slightly off to the side of the big screen. He takes the large comforter out from the truck and spreads it out while Hyunjin adjusts the radio so they can hear the movie for when it plays. Hyunjin comes back with the pillows they had brought and Changbin helps set them up.

When they’re done, they buy some chips, popcorn, and bottled drinks from the concession stand to last them through the movie, setting them carefully onto the side before they climb up into the back and get comfortable.

The first minute of an action movie begins to play through his speakers as he leans back into the pillows and Hyunjin curls himself into his side, throwing the other blanket over them. Hyunjin places the popcorn right near them and leaves the chips where they are, ready to grab them in case one of them wants the snack.

By the time the middle of the movie comes around, all of the popcorn is gone and Hyunjin is slowly falling asleep against his shoulder, flinching whenever a loud part of the movie comes on and startles him.

He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulls it out to see a notification from Jeongin.

****jeonginnie** **

**jeonginnie:  
**hyung, where r u?

 **me:  
**out  
what’s up?

 **jeonginnie:  
**i totally did not know that hyung  
i lost my key and i have no way to get in

 **me:  
**don't give me that sarcasm, mister  
and you're tough outta luck

 **jeonginnie:  
**hyung!

 **me:  
**okay, okay, fine  
there should be a spare underneath the mat

 **jeonginnie:  
**thanks

 _  
_   
“Who was that?” Hyunjin yawns, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes as Changin puts his phone away.

“It was just Jeongin-ah,” Changbin says, smiling softly at the other.

Hyunjin’s eyes widen and he looks up at Changbin worriedly. Hyunjin’s palm comes to rest on his chest, holding the fabric of his shirt between his fingers, “Is he okay?”

“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” Changbin assures, “He was just locked out of the apartment so I told him where the spare was.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin says softly, cuddling into Changbin even more. His arms come to wrap around his waist, and he sinks lower in his spot, tucking himself further into his side, “Okay.”

Changbin’s arm comes to lay across the other’s shoulder and he places his head on top of his where it rests on his shoulder. They sit like that in comfortable silence for almost the last half of the movie before Hyunjin speaks up.

“I almost feel bad for hanging out with you like this,” He sighs and Changbin’s heart thudders in his chest once painfully, before he continues, “But when I think about how happy I’ve been hanging out with you, I can’t bring myself to.”

Something like relief and guilt mixed floods through him and he cautiously, curiously asks, “Is it because we’re keeping this from Jeongin?”

He feels Hyunjin nod against his shoulder in response, “He’s my best friend so it feels weird keeping something like this from him but we both know how he is and probably wouldn’t approve of us seeing each other.” 

“Yeah, I get that,” Changbin says, bringing his hand to card his fingers through Hyunjin’s hair, “We’ll tell him eventually, okay? We should see where this goes first because if this stopped a bit after we told him, it wouldn’t look good.”

Hyunjin hums, “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Changbin snickers.

Hyunjin pulls away from him and looks at him with squinted eyes causing Changbin’s snickers to turn into giggles. He breaks out into a smile and Changbin can’t help but feel something fond flow through him at the sight so he moves just the slightest bit forward, planting a small kiss on his forehead.

He blushes in the low lighting, tucking himself back into Changbin’s side to hide and his giggles return quietly as they refocus their attention to the big screen again.

Changbin thinks he could get used to this.

_iv._

They go on their second date after about a month or so of just casually hanging out. _  
__  
_ They’ve got to learn more about each other throughout this time and can easily show affection to each other, whether it be simple touches like hand holding or hugs or even sometimes they’ll kiss each other on their cheeks or foreheads.

Changbin really likes to spend time with Hyunjin, learning more and more about him after each time they spend together.

He’s passionate about music and is majoring in dancing, wanting to do something in that field. He always laughs at whatever lame joke Changbin throws his way and sometimes even says some of his own that has them cracking up. He’s very sweet and kind too, always stopping to help people with a small task whenever they happen to be out, and always opens the door for the people after them, a charming smile on his lips as they pass by.

Tonight, Changbin is taking Hyunjin to the fair that’s about fifteen minutes away.

He takes his car keys from the hook and steps out, heading towards his truck.

Jeongin is out tonight with Seungmin doing whatever it is that they do. He had left about twenty or so minutes ago, dressed warmly since it’s supposed to get chillier. 

He arrives at Hyunjin’s a few minutes later and parks. He gets out and heads to the front door, knocking on it a couple of times.

Hyunjin opens it a couple of minutes later with a smile on his lips. He’s dressed in a black hoodie that’s one too many sizes for him, with a purple beanie pulled over his dark hair. He closes the door as he steps outside. Changbin thinks he looks very cute.

He says as much, “You look cute. Are you ready to go?”

He makes sure the door is closed fully behind him. A light blush has dusted across his cheeks when he glances at Changbin, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

-

They arrive at the fair no more than about fifteen minutes later.

It’s just nearly grazing nighttime when they arrive, with the sun almost set low behind the horizon line now. The clouds are fluffy, colored a dark gray blue with a remaining starburst orange tinting the sky. 

The place is packed.

Chatter from multiple people fills the air, as well as some popular music that plays underneath all of the noise. Different colored lights light the place up, giving it a pretty glow. There are multiple different rides and concession stands with different foods. There are different tent stalls to play games and win prizes, too. A shooting game tent stall catches his attention and he sees a big Toothless plushie as a prize. He makes a note in his mind to stop by there later with Hyunjin, so he can attempt to get it for him. From where he stands, he can see a merry-go-round and tilt-a-whirl that’s not too far off from it.

Hyunjin pulls him to a one-person stand where a lady greets them with a tired smile on her lips. She tells them the price for a ticket bracelet and Changbin pays. She takes two out for each of them and they help each other put it on before they’re off.

“Where to first?” Changbin asks, holding out a palm in Hyunjin’s direction.

He takes his hand and laces their fingers together easily, gently pulling him along into the crowd of people, “Let’s go to tilt-a-whirl!”

They find the ride a few minutes later, tucked behind some of the tent stall games and right across from the merry-go-round, with enough space between each place. When they get to the line, there’s not that many people, with most of them waiting for the merry-go-round or playing the mini games, or watching others play the games instead. They only have to wait about five minutes before they’re led on.

The worker opens the large medal bar for them that’ll hold them securely in place. Changbin steps in first carefully and guides Hyunjin next to him. The worker secures the medal bar in place for them and sends them a small polite smile before walking off to help the other people on. The ride jerks into a start not too long after and Hyunjin’s hand finds Changbin’s again, lacing their fingers together.

The ride starts off slowly at first but then it picks up its pace quickly after two rounds of it moving normally. After the third time, the car starts to spin in place, and spins faster another round later. The wind blows wildly in his face, causing his hair to be out-of-place. Changbin takes one look at Hyunjin and smiles when they lock eyes, causing Hyunjin to laugh loudly at his messy hair.

At one point, Hyunjin reaches into his pocket with his free hand and pulls out his phone, opening it up to the camera app. Hyunjin leans close into him, squishing their cheeks together. He brings the camera up in front of them and says, “Smile.”

He does and the shutter goes off.

The ride slows to a stop shortly after that and they get off nearly five minutes later, with smiles on their lips.

They stand off to the side of the line from the ride they just came off of and Hyunjin reaches up to brush Changbin’s hair down gently with his hands, fixing it so it doesn’t look so wind-swept.

After that, they go on nearly all the rides there, saving the ferris wheel for last.

When they get off their last ride for the moment, Changbin’s still laughing at Hyunjin’s disgruntled expression. He had to save his beanie from flying off of his head completely, when the pirate shaped ride had swung forward at full force. It caused him to quickly place his hand on his head so he still had the beanie when they got off and it left Hyunjin with a pout on his lips.

His laughter died down a few seconds later after they had left the ride. Changbin still sees the pout on his lips and glances over at him, a fond smile on his lips, “Okay, what do you want to do now?” 

“Let’s get some cotton candy,” Hyunjin suggests poutily, despite him not being actually upset at all, he knows.

It makes Changbin want to kiss him, but he squishes that thought.

Instead, he takes the other’s hand, leading them to one of the candy stalls. There’s not as many people in line, so they don’t have to wait for long and get their cotton candy fairly quickly, causing Hyunjin to smile widely.

They walk around for a little bit as a break so Hyunjin can finish his cotton candy before they move on to something else. At one point, when Hyunjin is practically finished, he stops and turns to Changbin near a trash can. He tilts his head slightly, offering, “Want a piece?”

“Sure,” Changbin shrugs, agreeing easily.

Hyunjin smiles lightly and rips a piece off, bringing it up to Changbin’s mouth. He flushes a bit in embarrassment but complies anyway, opening a bit. He tries to carefully take it but his lips wrap around Hyunjin’s fingers instead, the cotton candy melting sweet into his mouth. He flushes a deeper shade of red and quickly retracts, his heart beating wildly in his chest, like a butterfly got stuck and is trying to escape. Hyunjin’s cheeks are dusted a light red, his hand still lingering in the air. He blinks out of it a second later and throws the stick in the trash.

He’s about to tell them they should move forward but the words are caught in his throat. He flinches though, when he hears Jeongin laugh loudly near them. He sees Hyunjin’s eyes widen slightly in panic and Changbin quickly takes action, grabbing Hyunjin’s hand, and pulling him into a space between the tent stalls, their previous moment shattered.

Hyunjin is standing in front of Changbin, shielding them from the outside. The shadows obscure them so it’d be hard to spot them if someone just happened to glance this way. Changbin stands on his tip-toes just the slightest bit to look over the other’s shoulder to see Jeongin at a tent stall across from the one they’re hiding between. He sucks in a sharp breath and stands normally again. Hyunjin snorts and it causes Changbin to glare weakly at him, “What?”

Hyunjin shakes his head, a small smile on his lips as he whispers, “Nothing. Is he gone?”

“He’s still there.”

Changbin stands on his tip-toes again, just the slightest bit and sees Jeongin walking away from the tent stall with Seungmin trailing after him. He hadn’t thought about them coming to the fair but then again, Jeongin did go out tonight and the fairground is a pretty popular place to visit so at this point he feels surprised that he didn’t catch on sooner about what they were going to do. He’s just thankful they didn’t get caught. He plants his feet on the ground and waits a few seconds before saying, “I think they’re gone.”

“Phew, that was close,” Hyunjin says, relieved, reaching out to lace his fingers with his hand again. They walk out of the space between the tent stalls and the worker behind the stall sends them a Look, causing them both to flush and scurry off.

“What should we do now?” Changbin asks as they walk around aimlessly.

“Hmm,” Hyunjin hums in response, looking around.

They walk past a few game stalls that don’t catch their interest but then Hyunjin is pulling them to a stop in front of the shooting game that he had spotted earlier, when they had first arrived a couple of hours ago. “Ah!” He says in recognition once he spots the Toothless plushie still there.

“Let’s stop here,” Hyunjin says, guiding them to the front.

There’s no line here, currently which is a surprise to him. He sees most of the people at the other tent stalls instead though or thinks they’re waiting in lines for the rides that are still open.

“Five dollars,” The worker explains, placing his hands on the edge of the counter, “Five dollars for five shots at the target. If you hit it square in the center then you can pick out any big size stuffed animal you want. If you still manage to hit the target, you can get one of the smaller prizes instead.”

“Sounds good,” Changbin says, reaching into his pocket to get the money. He pulls out five dollars and hands it to the worker before he puts it away. In turn, he gets a plastic toy gun, with styrofoam bullets to insert inside of it. The ends of the bullet have a plastic sticky on it so it can stick to the target in front of them.

He loads the plastic toy gun and sends a small smile over to him. He gets a wider smile and an encouraging thumbs up in response.

He aims for the center and shoots, completely missing. He does it again and one more time after that, still completely missing. He hears Hyunjin snort from beside him when he passive-aggressively shoves the styrofoam bullet into the plastic toy gun, getting ready to aim again. He still has two more chances left and he’s determined to get that damned plushie.

He feels Hyunjin move closer next to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder blade, “Hyung, you know it’s okay if you don’t win, right?”

“I know that but I still want to,” He mumbles, pouting.

He focuses on shooting the target and _finally_ , it lands on it. However, he still misses the center. That’s okay though, because he still has one more shot left. He places the last styrofoam bullet in it and feels Hyunjin rub soothing circles on his shoulder. He takes aim and fires.

The styrofoam bullet hits square in the center.

Hyunjin cheers next to him and gives him a hug once he straightens his posture. He returns the hug and lets go, handing back the plastic toy gun, beaming proudly.

“You did it,” The worker says amusedly, turning to take off the styrofoam bullets that made it, “Nice job. Since you made two shots, you can choose a small stuffed animal for just making it on there and then one of the larger ones for hitting the center. Just tell me which ones you want and I’ll take them down for you.”

Changbin turns to Hyunjin, “I’ll choose one for you and you can choose the other for me if you want, okay?”

Hyunjin nods and starts scanning the options of plushies that are lined up. Changbin faces the worker again, “Can I have the large Toothless one?” 

“Sure,” The worker agrees breezily. He walks over to where it is and unhooks it, handing it over to Changbin when he’s back.

Just as Changbin says thanks, Hyunjin says, “I want that one.”

Hyunjin’s pointing at a small pig plush toy when his eyes trail over to see what he’s chosen. The worker grabs it and hands it to him and then they exchange plushies. They both say thank you before they head off again, this time towards the ferris wheel.

“So, how come you chose the pig?” Changbin asks, curiously.

He glances down at it in his palms. It’s kind of cute, actually.

“It reminded me of you, a little bit,” Hyunjin says.

He quirks an eyebrow and looks over at Hyunjin, “I see.” There’s a smile on his lips as he looks down at the large Toothless plushie he’s holding in his arms.

Hyunjin hums and then glances over at Changbin, tilting his head slightly, “What about you?”

“The same reason actually,” He smiles.

Hyunjin laughs, the sound causing his heart to flutter. He doesn’t say anything in response, the rest of their walk continuing in an almost silence.

They make it to the ferris wheel and wait in line for about five minutes before they get on. Hyunjin is told to not bring the plushie onto the ride because of how big it is but the worker says he’ll make sure no one takes it and just for the fun of it, Changbin places his small pig plush right next to Toothless.

They get into the ride with help and before they know it, they’re already at the top.

Changbin sits with his back in one corner and Hyunjin sits on the front side of him, looking at the view.

From here, you can see everything. The lights on the ground twinkle like the stars in the night sky and really, if Changbin were paying more attention to it, he’d know it’s breathtaking. Except, Hyunjin, who’s watching the real view with starry eyes, is more breathtakingly beautiful than anything Changbin’s ever seen.

Changbin thinks this is the part where he realizes he’s fallen.

_v._

“Are you sure that it’s okay we’re here?” Hyunjin asks hesitantly, stepping inside of the apartment.

Changbin has invited him over to his and Jeongin’s apartment at a time where he knows it’ll just be them. After some thinking and planning after their fair date, he decided he wanted to confess his feelings and what better place to do it where they had first met?

“Yes, Hyunjin. We’ve got the apartment to ourselves for a little bit and we’re not staying long anyway, so don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Changbin says from the kitchen, making sure everything’s in place. 

He hears shuffling by the door, assuming that Hyunjin is taking off his shoes, “If you’re sure.” 

He fixes the cup when he sees it’s a bit out of place and makes sure the sticky note that says _will you be my boyfriend?_ written on it won’t fall off. He stands in front of it to make sure Hyunjin doesn’t see it when he enters. He knows it’s probably cheesy but he doesn’t think Hyunjin will mind, at least he hopes not. He’s tried not to think about possible rejection.

“What did you want to talk about here?” Hyunjin asks, entering the kitchen.

Changbin is just starting to feel slightly nervous now but he thinks he doesn’t have anything to worry about. So, with a deep breath, he confesses, getting straight to the point (almost), “Hyunjin, this past month or so I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you and I really, _really_ like you.”

Hyunjin stares at him with wide, surprised eyes, stepping forward to hold Changbin’s flittering hands in his but otherwise says nothing, so he continues. “I also would really like to spend time with you with our friends, with Jeongin. I know he might not be very approving of this at first because he’s tried for a long time to keep me from his friend life but I want to be with you if you’ll allow me. What do you say, Hyunjin?”

He moves away from standing in front of the cup, to reveal the question that’s been at the tip of his tongue. Hyunjin’s eyes fall on it and he breaks out into a wide smile, laughter falling from his lips when he reads the note. Changbin’s heart squeezes in his chest when Hyunjin says, “This is absolutely cheesy but of course, I’d love to be your boyfriend, hyung.”

He smiles wide and brings Hyunjin into a hug, tucking his head into his shoulder. Hyunjin wraps his arms around his waist returning the hug and he knows now that everything will turn out okay.

_\+ i._ _  
__  
_ Really, Hyunjin doesn’t mean for Jeongin to find out this way.

They had finally planned a day where simply the two of them could just hangout since it had been a while. But when they had gotten to Hyunjin’s room, he had decided to take this time to interrogate him, of all things.

He sits Hyunjin down in a chair and places his hands on his shoulders, looks him straight in the eye and says, “Who have you been seeing, Hwang?”

Hyunjin’s cheeks turn a bright red and he sputters out, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jeongin squints his eyes, leaning in further, “Don’t play dumb. I know my best friend and I know he’s definitely seeing someone, so spill.”

See, he and Changbin have been dating for about a week now and they were going to plan a time for them to talk to Jeongin about their relationship but there hadn’t been a good time since they had all gotten busy with multiple things. 

He goes to say something but then his ringer blares loudly, startling the both of them at the unexpectedness from it. He smiles sheepishly at Jeongin, not bothering to look at the caller id, and scoots the chair back against the floor.

“Hello?” He answers.

“Hey babe, you left your hoodie over here this morning. Do you want me to bring it to you later?” Changbin says, voice loud and clear in the deafening silence, oblivious as to what’s going on.

“Hyung?” Jeongin says instead and then there’s a long, heavy pause between all three of them.

If looks could kill, he’s sure he’d be dead by now.

“J-Jeongin?” Changbin squeaks.

“Hyung,” Jeongin repeats calmly and Hyunjin finds the calmness he exudes scarier than anything, “You both have _lots_ of explaining to do.”

Hyunjin nods meekly.

“Now, start from the beginning.”

_-fin._

**Author's Note:**

> [ twt ](https://twitter.com/withustars)   
>  [ cc ](https://curiouscat.me/withustars)


End file.
